NASCAR Cup: Martin Truex Jr. in position to clinch regular-season bonus at Bristol

After a stage win and a second-place finish in the Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn on Aug. 13, Martin Truex Jr. is in a position to clinch the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular-season championship in the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol (Ten.) Motor Speedway on Saturday night.

If Truex has a 121-point lead over the second-place driver in the points standings after Saturday night’s race, he’ll be guaranteed to be the points leader at the end of the regular season that will have two races remaining at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway and Richmond (Va.) Raceway. Truex heads into the Bristol race with a 129-point lead on second-place driver Kyle Larson.

“It might appear that we have a safe margin, but I’ve been around long enough to know that points can dwindle fairy quickly,” Truex said. “The next three races – Bristol, Darlington and Richmond – are at tracks where the odds are higher of your day ending prematurely, so that’s why I am not looking ahead or counting points. All the focus right now is getting a good result in Bristol.”

Truex has two top-fives and three top-10 finishes in 23-career starts at Bristol Motor Speedway. When the Cup Series raced there earlier this season, he finished eighth after winning the first stage.

The regular-season title carries with it a 15 playoff-point bonus. Truex also has a generous playoff-point lead over the competition. He already has 35 bonus points after four race wins and 15 stage wins. The driver with the next-highest tally in playoff points is Larson with 18.